A special court on Wednesday sentenced disgraced “godman” Asaram to life imprisonment till death for raping a teenage girl at his ashram.

“In my humble opinion, Asaram not only broke the faith of the complainant but also spoiled the image of saints among common men, ” the judge said.

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JODHPUR: A special court on Wednesday sentenced disgraced “godman” Asaram to life imprisonment till death for raping a teenage girl studying at his ashram, with the judge saying, “In my humble opinion, Asaram not only broke the faith of the complainant but also spoiled the image of saints among common men.”

The 16-year-old teenager had said in her complaint that Asaram had called her to his ashram in Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013.

The police chargesheet against Asaram and four others was filed on November 6, 2013 under various Sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, the Juvenile Justice Act and the Indian Penal Code.

On Wednesday, special judge Madhusudan Sharma read out the 453-page judgment in Jodhpur Central Jail where 77-year-old Asaram has been lodged ever since his arrest. Asaram was arrested in Indore and brought to Jodhpur on September 1, 2013.

Apart from Asaram, two other accused — Shilpi, hostel warden of Asaram’s gurukul in Chhindwara (MP) where the survivor and her brother studied, and Sharad, manager of the gurukul — were also convicted by the court and sentenced to 20 years in jail.

The court, however, acquitted two others — Shiva, a staffer at the ashram, and Prakash, Asaram’s cook. Judge Sharma noted that Asaram is considered a saint and has lakhs of followers not only in the country but also overseas and runs about 400 ashrams.

He added that the rape survivor's father was a disciple of Asaram and contributed towards the construction of his ashram at Shahjanhanpur in UP. His devotion towards Asaram was such that he got his son and daughter admitted to the Chhindwara gurukul for studies.

Having made the observations, the judge remarked, “Asaram separated the girl from her parents under the guise of performing prayers and sexually exploited her after calling her to his room.”

The judge, along with his staff, defence and prosecution counsels and the accused reached Jodhpur Central Jail at 9am. Fearing violence by Asaram’s followers, a special courtroom was set up inside the jail at the directions of the Rajasthan high court. The judgment came around 11am.

‘Zero social work, Asaram breached faith about saints’

Defence counsel Sajjan Raj Surana prayed for a mild sentence for Asaram citing his old age and social works done by him for the poor and tribals.
However, public prosecutor Pokar Ram Bishnoi, seeking harsher punishment, argued that no leniency should be shown considering the nature of the crime and the person who committed it.

“Asaram has breached the faith of people about saints. He has hardly done any social work but has exploited a minor girl who was studying at his gurukul,” Bishnoi argued. Around 3pm, Judge Sharma ordered that Asaram be kept under imprisonment till his death.

The court convicted Asaram under IPC Section 376 (2)(f) (rape of minor girl), Section 376D (rape by persons constituting a group or acting in furtherance of a common intention), Section-370(4) (trafficking of persons), Section 342 (wrongful confinement); IPC Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), and slapped a fine of over Rs 3 lakh and sentenced him to life imprisonment till death.

Asaram was also convicted under Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (punishment for cruelty to juvenile), for which he was given a six-month sentence. Bishnoi said the court imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Asaram and Rs 50,000 each on Shilpa and Sharat. “Money collected from them will go to the rape survivor,” said Bishnoi.

The special court, too, recommended an appropriate compensation from the District Legal Service Authority for the survivor.

Soon after the verdict, the survivor’s father expressed satisfaction, saying, “My daughter is happy today.” “We had complete faith in the judiciary. We are happy that we got justice,” the father told reporters in Shahjanhanpur. He said the family had been living in constant fear for the past five years.

Security across several states, such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, was tightened to prevent violence by Asaram followers.

In August last year, several people were killed in Panchkula following conviction of another godman, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case. Asaram is also facing a rape case in Surat. He is accused of raping a former follower who lived at his ashram in Motera, Ahmedabad, between 1996 and 2007.

The complaint was filed in 2013 by two sisters. While one accused Asaram of raping her at the Motera ashram, the other accused his son, Narayan Sai, of rape. Six women, including Asaram's wife, daughter, and four ashram office-bearers, have been booked for conspiracy and illegal confinement.

Re: For raping 16-year-old at ashram, Asaram gets life in jail till death

I have my doubts about this whole case, given how mofo Congress framed Col Purohit and a swamy in Samjhauta case to build a bogey around Hindu terror.. this Asaram case too reeks badly of such a fixed match.

Re: For raping 16-year-old at ashram, Asaram gets life in jail till death

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Originally Posted by sarv_shaktimaan

I have my doubts about this whole case, given how mofo Congress framed Col Purohit and a swamy in Samjhauta case to build a bogey around Hindu terror.. this Asaram case too reeks badly of such a fixed match.

asaram is sindhi and my girlfriend ( who is also sindhi ) tells me that she knows several women in the sindhi community who consider asaram their 'husband' and used to sleep with him . most of them are widows or divorcees who go to asaram in search of solace due to their troubles . and asaram preys on their vulnerable condition to entrap them into his web of lust .

of course , if a muslim baba was doing what asaram is doing then the same people who are attacking asaram would have remained quiet . i will admit that . but that does not mean asaram is not guilty .

Re: For raping 16-year-old at ashram, Asaram gets life in jail till death

Asaram was a big time fucker and preyed on gullible women and girls.

It is said he was bi-sexual too and would bugger young boys too. Even if this is not true, the other stories about him raping women and girls are true. He is just like that Ram Rahim Dera Saccha Sauda chief.

Re: For raping 16-year-old at ashram, Asaram gets life in jail till death

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Originally Posted by ashdoc

asaram is sindhi and my girlfriend ( who is also sindhi ) tells me that she knows several women in the sindhi community who consider asaram their 'husband' and used to sleep with him . most of them are widows or divorcees who go to asaram in search of solace due to their troubles . and asaram preys on their vulnerable condition to entrap them into his web of lust .

of course , if a muslim baba was doing what asaram is doing then the same people who are attacking asaram would have remained quiet . i will admit that . but that does not mean asaram is not guilty .

That is consensual Sex. Mahatma Gandhi also used to sleep with his naked grand nieces to test his ‘control’
Not a true test per me. He should have slept with whores

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This is quite a game, politics. There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends,only permanent interests. - Some Firang

Re: For raping 16-year-old at ashram, Asaram gets life in jail till death

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Originally Posted by Shringarey

I will tell you a story about Asaram, as told to me by the victim.

The victim was a security guy at an airport. Asaram came there with his followers. Asaram went in the airport. Followers wanted to go in. Security guard stopped them.

One of the followers said, "Bapu, yeh tumhe chewtiya kahataa hai"

Asaram said, "Dabaaa de saaale ko."

Then they all ganged up and beat the security guard. He was in hospital for a while.

This has no relation to the rape case, just telling tho.

Airport security is not run by Group 4 securitas. They are run by CISF. So, was this victim from CISF? And wasnt the follower passing on wrong information to Asaram.

The guys are always at the receiving end of things. They may look rough (and they are expected to be) but are friendly at the same time. One was quite pleased when i was boarding a flight to Umrika and felt the rudraksh mala i was wearing saying i follow some tradition and all. Years before demonetization, i was carrying some cash in my pocket. The security guy felt it and said, 'Isi ke liye to hum roz logon je paaon chhoote hain'

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This is quite a game, politics. There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends,only permanent interests. - Some Firang